Do you ever feel like you're trying and failing to resume your normal life after coming back from traveling? Because right now, I feel like I'm auditioning for the role of myself and I don't think I'd give me the part.
I'm staring out the window, hoping the golden red foliage gives my thoughts the spark they need to fall back into place. I wish I had better results to report, but such are the ways of assimilation—so gradual, it doesn't feel like it's working. Though, I know it is. Just in small increments. It's not that I feel bad, just... foggy. Slow. Like something's not quite right? Like putting on a pair of pants after doing laundry and finding they're a bit too snug.
I've spent a lot of my life in transit, so I know many tricks of getting back to my normal day-to-day life after living in transit. The best thing to do is to go through the motions. Do what you would normally do, even and especially when it doesn't feel like it used to.
Showing up consistently is what re-establishes routine. So, I make my coffee and sit at my desk. I create my to-do list and open my email. I do these things even though it feels like I'm pretending to be Derek. Because I am. But little by little, I'll be back from abnormal. Steven Pressfield talks about this idea in The War Of Art (or maybe in Turning Pro?). He refers to it as "resistance." Essentially, it's about mastering the art of showing up. If you consistently showing up for the thing you want, you become the person capable of doing it.
Pay attention to what you're resisting. When you run into discomfort, do you let yourself off the hook? That's the moment to pay attention to. Coaching yourself through the discomfort is your challenge. And encouragement works better punishment ever will.
onward.
-dmac